In the soap dispensing industry, there are many types of products to be dispensed including pastes, lotions, gels, liquids and foam products. These various products can require different pumping arrangements including different pumps and operational strokes. For example, some products are advantageously dispensed via soap dispensers including a reciprocating piston pump. While other products are preferably dispensed via a peristaltic pump in which a tube is squeezed to displace the fluid.
The present invention has appreciated that a disadvantage arises that known dispensing units are not capable of dispensing fluid from both a piston pump and a peristaltic pump.